Obama, Romney campaigns spar over trade policy

Advisers for Mitt Romney’s presidential bid and the re-election campaign for President Obama fired shots at one another’s candidates through social media on Thursday.

“A year ago, Romney hit Obama in No Apology for being too tough on China. Now Mitt’s a trade warrior? Should have called his book No Shame!” tweeted David Axelrod, campaign manager for Obama’s re-election campaign.

Eric Fehrnstrom, a senior campaign adviser to Romney, fired back: “@davidaxelrod You should rename Obama's book, The Audacity of Indifference, or How I Golfed My Way Through a Recession."

The section in Romney’s 2010 book No Apology: The Case for American Greatness that Axelrod likely referred to criticized Obama for imposing a 2009 tariff on tires imported from China.

A Romney aide said Thursday that the former Massachussetts governor can support holding all countries accountable to “playing by the rules” in free trade agreements without supporting a “political give-away” such as the tariff on the Chinese tire industry.

Romney plans to give a major speech focused on trade policy Thursday afternoon in Washington state. Romney's campaign released a web video Thursday ahead of the speech blasting Obama for not being tough on China.

The Democratic National Committee quickly pushed back in an email, arguing that Obama has a record of standing with American workers on issues such as the tire tariff.

Obama's 2008 book is actually called The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream. Conservatives have repeatedly criticized Obama's frequent golfing outings as a distraction from other issues such as the economy.

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